The Mighty Fall
--- Shane woke up with an uneasy feeling, the first thought entering his head being his upcoming duel with Klara, Michael’s older sister. He’d met her the previous night and she seemed nice enough, but he wasn’t fooled by her congenial personality. No, his instincts told him she was a fierce duelist, and he wasn’t about to head into this overconfident. If he did, he’d never win. Even Michael had never beaten Klara, which made him nervous. Doing his best not to think about it, he went about the rest of his day, suffering through his agonizingly boring classes. Once the final bell rang, he headed for the newly renovated dueling arena. Unsurprisingly, almost the whole student body was making their way there, as well. Shane wished he could make his creeping anxiety shut up, but sadly, he’d just have to deal for the moment. He made his way inside the arena, taking his spot as himself stood in the middle of the floor. ''“Greetings, students of Duel Academy and distinguished guests,” he announced. “Today is a very special day for the school, as for the first time, we will get to witness an exhibition match between the top professional duelist in the world, Klara Pavus, and Duel Academy’s own number one student, Obelisk Blue’s Shane Stryker! Good luck to both duelists, and may you both believe in your cards!” '' The platforms rose as the systems within the arena activated. Calming his nerves, he fastened his Duel Disk around his wrist before switching it on. None of the usual self-assuredness he had before a duel seemed to want to make an appearance. Shane drew his hand, and then looked up at Klara. “Who goes first?” ---- “I’ll start us off,” Klara began, examining her hand. “I’ll activate effect, sending it and to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon . Now, I’ll activate Necro Slime’s effect from the Graveyard to Fusion Summon . Next, I’ll normally summon . His effect lets me send one card from my deck to the Graveyard. I’ll send D/D Swirl Slime to my Graveyard. Next, I’ll activate his effect to Special Summon from my hand. to draw two, set one of them and with that, I’ll end my turn.” ---- Deciding going too aggressively wouldn’t pay off for the first turn, especially against a pro, Shane examined his hand and figured he’d play it somewhat safe. Closing his eyes, he drew, then reopened them to see what the card was. Hm. “Okay. I’ll set two cards face down and then I’ll play this Polymerization in my hand to fuse my Elemental HERO Nightwalker with my Elemental HERO Burnside. Say hello to one of my favorites, ! But that isn’t all. I’ll activate Burnside’s effect to Special Summon from my deck one Elemental HERO Overcharge and one ! With Overcharge, I’ll pull Elemental HERO Hurricane Breaker and and sacrifice all three to Synchro Summon the one, the only, Elemental HERO Brightstar!” As Brightstar appeared, his other Elemental HERO monsters seemed to glow with a faint, beautiful golden aura, symbolizing the magical protection that Brightstar cast over them. He studied Klara’s field carefully, before making a decision. “Brightstar, attack Oracle King d’Arc! Heat, take out Copernicus! Nova Master, bring down Abyss King Ragnarok! Thanks to my Nova Master’s effect, I get to draw an additional card…” Shane drew, once again closing his eyes before examining his draw. “...which I will now set face down, and that ends my turn.” ---- Klara sighed as she drew a card from her hand. “I didn’t want to pull this one out so quickly, but I might as well.” she noted. She revealed the card in her hand, Different Dimension Drop. She activated it, and a large swirling portal opened above the field, resembling a wilting rose. “It’s not pretty, but it’s powerful. From my Extra Deck, I’ll Synchro Summon, ! The secondary effect of Different Dimension Drop’s going to activate, and destroy every other card on this field!” she exclaimed. Her ace monster, her Deckmaster had risen, and the portal imploded, releasing gray-ash energy waves outwards, destroying every other card on the field. But the waves of ash avoided the golden aura, it proving too great of a shield for it to destroy. “Now, my monsters effects activate! Genghis’ effect allows me to retrieve my destroyed Dark Contract card that had been set on the field, . Since your monsters lost their original target, they can’t follow through with their attacks.” “With the end of your turn, I’ll draw a card. I’ll activate Dark Contract With The Gate.” she began, before she was interrupted. ---- “Nah, not this time. Elemental HERO Nightwalker, arise from your dark grave!” Following Shane’s command, a shadowy Elemental HERO appeared atop Dark Contract With the Gate, using an obsidian tanto to slice through it, negating its activation. His job done, the noble wanderer of the dark returned to his grave. ---- Klara pouted. “That would stink, if the card I drew hadn’t been another Dark Contract With The Gate.” she said, winking at Shane before activating it. “This’ll fetch me D/D Savant Copernicus, and I’ll summon him. His effect sends a Necro Slime to the Graveyard, and I’ll use its effect to bring out D/D/D Flame Emperor Executive Genghis.” she stated, examining her opponent’s field. “Seigfried will go attack Nova Master, while Genghis attacks Heat!!” Genghis launched forward, slamming his blade down into Heat, severing the HERO in a conflagration of flames. Seigfried rushed forward, stopping abruptly before Nova Master. The HERO simply stared at Seigfried as the Cursed King simply lifted his palm towards the HERO, Nova Master simply vanishing. “You take 800 damage, and I’ll enter my second Main Phase. I’ll overlay my two monsters to bring out , and end my turn.” ---- Shane winced as both his Heat and Nova Master were destroyed, feeling genuine pain at the sight. He was deeply attached to his HEROes, and didn’t relish their destruction in the least. “I’ll play one monster in defense mode, and then my Brightstar will obliterate Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy! That’s it for my turn.” ---- Klara sighed as she took 600 damage. She drew her next card and nodded. “I’ll activate --” ---- “Heh. Nightwalker, come forth!” Shane’s Elemental HERO Nightwalker reappeared once more, slashing through the Dark Contract With the Swamp King. “See, Nightwalker’s not strong on his own, but from the Graveyard, his real power casts a nasty darkness over my opponents.” ---- Klara sighed. “That’s kinda getting annoying. No big deal, I’ll activate the Monster Reborn in my hand, Special Summoning Ragnarok from the Graveyard. His effect activates, and I’ll Special Summon Executive Genghis. I’ll proceed to Overlay them and bring out . Now, all effects on your field are negated. I’ll use Kali Yuga as material to bring out ! I’ll have him attack your Brightstar, and get rid of him!” ---- Plague Doctor cackled as centipedes crawled out of any opening on his body they could find, wrapping themselves around Brightstar as they absorbed him, releasing his energy as damage, 100 Life Points would be deducted from Shane’s. “Now, I’ll end my turn. Your move.” ---- “Brightstar!” Shane yelped. “Okay, now I’m mad.” He drew his new card, activating it immediately. “I play !” ---- “Plague Doctor’s effect kicks in! Detaching a material to negate the activation of Raigeki, and adding it to Doctor as an Xyz Material!” Klara interrupted. “Isn’t it annoying, getting your cards negated?” ---- “Not as annoying as this is about to be. Again, Nightwalker, assassinate!” Elemental HERO Nightwalker once again appeared, as Plague Doctor’s dark aura dispelled the thunderbolt og Raigeki, slashing through the malevolent being and destroying it. “My assassin game is strong. You’re not the only one who can spam annoying cards, you know!” ---- As the HERO slashed through the Plague Doctor, it reformed, grabbing Nightwalker by the skull. Centipedes surrounded the HERO, absorbing him as a material. “I know I’m not, but now I’ve gotten rid of your Nightwalker,” she responded, the same smile that she had had from the beginning on her face. ---- “Gotcha where I want you now. You can’t do anything about this!” Shane threw the last card in his hand down, activating it. “HERO Parade, go! Come forth, Overcharge in attack position, Hurricane Breaker in defense! With Overcharge, I bring out another Nightwalker, as well as in defense mode so I can add a Polymerization to my hand. Now, using Hurricane Breaker and Nightwalker along with Overcharge, I’ll bring out another of my favorites: Elemental HERO Firebrand!” A wall of flames erupted along Klara’s side of the field, incinerating Plague Doctor. “Got both of my Nightwalkers right where they belong, safely in my graveyard, and Hurricane Breaker lets me add a Spell or Trap to my hand, which I think I’ll set down on the sly. Now, Firebrand, attack directly!” Spheres of flames formed in both of Firebrand’s hands, which he launched at Klara. “Now that I’ve gotten to burn some of your Life Points, it’s your turn.” ---- As the flames flew towards Klara, she activated the card in her hand, one Shane would recognize. Yet again, a vortex opened up above the field, resembling a wilted rose. From it, her trump card would arrive. “I Synchro Summon, D/D/D/D Cursed Emperor Seigfried!” she exclaimed, the monster she had summoned exuding a powerful aura. As the Emperor was summoned, seven cards from Klara’s Graveyard were banished, and the vortex released waves of dust-gray ash, destroying every other card on the field. “With that, I’ll start my turn.” she said, drawing a card from her deck. “I’ll set one monster face down, and with Emperor Seigfried, I’ll attack you directly for 4000 points of damage! ---- The damage Shane took make him wince, and he could feel himself getting cornered. It wasn’t a feeling he liked, but at the same time, adrenaline was coursing through him. Biting his lip, he looked over his shoulder, his eyes searching the crowd...until he found what he was looking for. All of his friends gathered in the stands, and most importantly, the person he locked eyes with: Michael. Of course Michael was there, and so were Casey, Akhratan, Tenma, Zach... all the people who’d made him feel like he had something of a family for the time ever. He took a deep breath, knowing that this duel literally depended on his final draw. Shane closed his eyes, and as his fingers grazed the top card of his deck, he sensed it. Nothing to lose, he drew it, and as he opened his eyes he felt relief flood him. Maybe this wouldn’t work, but this card hadn’t failed him yet. “I summon Elemental HERO Overcharge!” he announced, throwing the card down in attack position. “Overcharge, let your energy bring forth the shining Bright Beacon, and my Blazeman!” ---- “Sorry about this,” Klara began. Emperor Seigfried raised his palm, and as Overcharge began to glisten with energy, he was absorbed into Seigfried. “Emperor’s effect lets me negate up to two monster effects a turn, and banish all Elemental HERO Overcharge monsters you have at all.” ---- “Well then. Looks like it’s up to the darkness to save me… Emerge, Nightwalker, and assassinate!” The ninja in jet black emerged from his shadowy grave once more, his obsidian blade tearing through Emperor Siegfried’s armor. ---- As the ninja tore through the armour of Emperor Seigfried, the armour wrapped around Nightwalker, banishing him and his companions that had been in the Graveyard with him. ---- Realizing that he was defeated, Shane watched as his monsters’ effects failed him, and the weight of the realization fell heavily upon his shoulders. Color flooded to his cheeks as embarrassment struck him, and he deactivated his Duel Disk, a sign of surrender. Not wishing to appear like a poor sportsman, he walked up to Klara and shook her hand. “Good game,” he said quietly, before turning on his heel and walking out of the building as swiftly as he could, desiring nothing more than to be left alone. ---- Michael cursed under his breath as Shane began to leave. He hopped down from the stands, chasing after him. “Shane!” the dark-skinned boy called out, eventually catching up with him. He put his hand on his cheek, turning Shane to face him. “You good?” ---- Shane felt completely humiliated. Not only had he been beaten, he hadn’t been able to do a damn thing against Klara. It wasn’t even a real duel, he’d lost so badly. Lost in thought, he felt himself stop in his tracks as someone’s hand reached out and cupped his cheek, turning him around. Michael. Shane had been so out of it he hadn’t even heard Michael call out to him. “What do you think?” he sighed, taking a step back and shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. “That was beyond pathetic. I can’t believe everyone saw that. How in the hell am I gonna show my face in class tomorrow?” ---- "Shane, don't think like that!" Michael exclaimed sharply. "You forced her to bring out her ultimate card of all things! I can literally count the amount of people who've made her do that on one hand!" he ranted. "You dueled with all your heart, and forced her to do something like that. You're probably one of the only challenges she's had to deal with." ---- “If you say so. You’re probably only saying that to make me feel better, but the cold, hard truth is, I sucked. I couldn’t do anything to stop her. Fuck, I couldn’t even do real damage, that’s how lopsided it was.” He turned away, dejected and irritated. “That duel was a horrible idea. Obelisk should’ve put up someone who wouldn’t have embarrassed the school.” ---- "Shane, you know me. I'm blunt and always honest. Klara would agree, you're one of the only challenges she's ever had to deal with." Michael began. "And I mean, she's a Pro, no one here could have beaten her." Seeing his boyfriend so hurt was literally painful, both physically and emotionally, he couldn't handle it. "Shane, don't look so sad, it hurts me." ---- “Then what was even the point? If you knew I couldn’t win, why push me to accept the dorm’s nomination? Would’ve saved me some time and embarrassment.” He knew his attitude wasn’t the best, but he couldn’t stop himself. Despite all of the victories he’d accumulated, he still didn’t possess true confidence. It didn’t take much for him to lose the confidence that he did have, and losing so badly in front of everyone was just the type of thing to do it. Besides, what was really bothering him was...his favorite card, the one he had come to rely on with all his heart, had failed him miserably. It was powerless in the face of Klara’s Emperor, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. “How do you want me to look, then?” Shane asked, turning around and faking a smile. “Like this?” ---- Michael’s eyes began to water. “Don’t be like this,” he began. “Please.” "Cause you were the only one who would be able to draw her out like that. The only one out of us all who could deal damage to her." he began. "I also kinda needed her approval." he finished, wiping away some of his tears. ---- Damn it. Seeing Michael like this made him weak, and all of the emotions left him. He felt smaller than ever, like he was physically shrinking. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Ugh...what a day this was turning out to be. He wished he’d just stayed in bed. “Approval? What do you mean?” he asked, raising his eyebrow. Shane didn’t buy necessarily that he was the only one who could’ve done any damage to Klara at all. There was Zach, after all, or Casey, or Akhratan. Well… Zach was Ra, but still. He had faith in Zach, more than he had in himself. ---- Michael reached into his back pocket, pulling out something but keeping it hidden. "I know we can't technically do what I wanna do yet, but I did get you this." he began, revealing a small iron ring, with a small and pristine ruby on the top. "Shane, I love you. It's been only a year, but I can't imagine life without you." "This," he said, showing the ring to Shane. "Is my promise ring to you. A promise that I will...I'll marry you when we can." ---- His eyes widened as Michael revealed the ring, and he was pretty sure he couldn’t breathe. Maybe that was a problem, maybe not. Oxygen wasn’t important, right? Nah, not really. Though Shane’s mouth felt bone dry, he managed to reply softly, “I love you too, Michael.” Those were the only words he could manage. Without speaking, he stepped forward and clung to Michael, nuzzling into his boyfriend’s neck.